Monday, April 16, 2012

I heard many horror stories about how hard it was bringing a third child into the family. The parents are outnumbered, the third is the hardest... So with that "encouragement", I was expecting the transition from Family of Four to Family of Five to be quite challenging, but I'm thrilled (and relieved!) that it hasn't been as difficult as I expected. The biggest challenge for me is trying to get through each day's to-do list. I don't think I've had a single day where I felt like I completed as much as I wanted or needed to. Something is always left undone, usually the laundry and cleaning. Lucky for me, my family doesn't see the dirt and grime like I do, so if the floors aren't mopped, no one notices but me. They notice if I don't feed them, so that gets done. But they don't notice if the counters aren't wiped down, the furniture isn't dusted, the floors aren't vacuumed (clean carpets are like Xanex for my soul!)... so I'm trying to adjust my expectations to be more realistic of what a wife and mom of three (one of whom who is only three months old) needs to get done each day. Meanwhile, I'm so grateful that I have an understanding and encouraging husband who helps me maintain what little sanity I have left!

Here are some pictures to give you a good idea of what life is like around here since this cutie has made her appearance...

These two girls love their baby sister. I rarely have to remind them to be gentle because they both have a sweet, mothering nature.

Jared has outdone himself in the great dad department. He spends so much time with the girls and they adore him for it.

I am one of those people who thrives on a good night's rest. Those are finally becoming more regular, but I have spent many afternoons napping on the couch. This was when Heidi was just over a week old and we were at Jared's parent's house. I LOVE how snuggly newborns are!

Here's a text message from my encouraging husband :)

Jared fell through the attic floor and cut his leg. This is Charlotte's depiction of his boo-boo.

They're not always sweet angels, but they are usually very good. Example of their sweetness below. When Jared cut his leg, I told them each to pack up a purse of theirs with some toys to play with while we waited in the ER. Like any good Southern belle, they came prepared for tea and prayed beforehand.

The girls were taking pictures of the momentous occasion of Heidi drinking out of a bottle. She is not a fan of being fed in this manner and will put up a good fight when a bottle or pacie is put into her mouth. She will eventually take the bottle, but she usually skips a feeding before she finally takes it and swallows a ton of air in the process.

This is how the girls and I spend our days. Not always in front of the TV, but usually in our jammies, half of their toys pulled out from their room and scattered throughout the house, and a butterfly net on the head because, well, why the heck not?! Don't judge.

Thankfully, Heidi doesn't protest bath time like she used to, but this is usually her temperament if she's in her car seat. She hates it about as much as Charlotte did, but doesn't seem to be quite as long-winded with her protests as her big sister.

And we'll end this post with my push present from Jared. He framed this poem that he wrote for me. Yes, I cried. I cried much. (Click the photo to enlarge it to see just how sweet of a man I married).